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Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Gary-Kenosha — June 2015

Local prices declined 0.7 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area rose 0.2 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices increased 1.8 percent and food prices increased 0.2 percent in June. The all items less food and energy index saw no change over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices rose for shelter, but were lower for apparel; recreation; and household furnishings and operations in June. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the Chicago area all items CPI-U decreased 0.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 19.3 percent over the year due to falling gasoline prices, utility (piped) gas service costs, and electricity costs. The all items less food and energy index was 1.0 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.2 percent in June following a 0.3 percent decrease in May. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) declined 0.4 percent while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.1 percent over the month. Within the food at home group, categories experiencing price increases included eggs, snacks, and tomatoes, while prices were lower for bananas and other fresh fruits.

From June 2014 to June 2015, the food index increased 1.9 percent. Grocery food prices rose 0.8 percent over the year, while prices for food eaten away from home increased 3.5 percent from the previous June.

Energy

The energy index was up 1.8 percent in June, due mostly to an 8.2 percent increase in gasoline prices and a 2.3 percent increase in utility (piped) gas service costs. The electricity index declined 8.5 percent from May to June.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy remained unchanged in June. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (0.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for apparel (-2.0 percent), recreation (-0.5 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent. Annual increases in the indexes for shelter (2.5 percent) and medical care (3.6 percent) were the major contributing factors. In contrast, apparel prices were down 8.6 percent and costs for household furnishings and operations declined 3.2 percent over the year.

The July 2015 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 19, 2015.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. Note:Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Footnotes(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.(2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.(5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.